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Depending on where you are in the US, hand counts are not realistic. California ballots are notoriously long, with upwards of 50-something contests on a single
by the_snooze 1y ago
Depending on where you are in the US, hand counts are not realistic. California ballots are notoriously long, with upwards of 50-something contests on a single ballot: regular "pick one" elections, ranked-choice voting, and many ballot initiatives.
The US has indeed largely moved towards "voting machines," but I should be explicit about what this means. These aren't the touchscreen computer-only (direct-recording electronic) machines that were hastily deployed after Bush v Gore. The overwhelming majority of states and municipalities now use some kind of optical-scan paper ballot technology, like scantron forms that are tabulated and kept safe in a box with a scanner bolted onto it. So even if the scanner is broken, there's a reliable record of voter intent.
https://ballotpedia.org/Voting_methods_and_equipment_by_state https://ballotpedia.org/Voting_methods_and_equipment_by_stat...
- mmastrac 1y agoI can't help but wonder if this utter complexity of voting led to many of America's current problems. It's a unique approach with unique problems.
- the_snooze 1y agoIt's a contributing factor, but not something to solve. It arises from our multi-layered forms of government, where states are very strong and hold a lot of power to themselves. Some states have ballot initiatives. Some don't. Some states allow for ranked-choice voting for certain offices. Some don't. Some states (like California) love direct democracy and having lots of elected offices that are normally appointees in other places. This is why it's states--not the federal government--that run elections; each state has a different political system that sets the requirements for elections.